


Three little words

by Exxxalted (Gandalfgirl579)



Category: Captive Prince - C. S. Pacat
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Brief mention of the Regent, Dealing With Trauma, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Hurt/Comfort, Jaimeric, M/M, Trauma
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-07-02
Updated: 2018-07-02
Packaged: 2019-06-01 10:02:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 489
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15140711
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Gandalfgirl579/pseuds/Exxxalted
Summary: "I love you." The words were soft and heartfelt, and so Jord would never have imagined they would earn him such a violent reaction.





	Three little words

"I love you." The words were soft and heartfelt, and so Jord would never have imagined they would earn him such a violent reaction.

Aimeric, pinned beneath him, suddenly clawed at his shoulders, shoving him away with all the strength he had, hissing, " _Don't say that._ "

For a long moment, Jord sat still and silent at the edge of the bed. Then, very softly, he asked, "What's wrong?"

Aimeric glowered at him, then looked away.

Even from this distance, Aimeric's distress was obvious: His eyes were wet, his nose pinked, his lower lip held too tightly between his teeth.

"Aimeric." Jord kept his voice as gentle as he could manage. " _ **Talk to me**_."

" _I don't want to _."__

__"I can't apologize if I don't know what I did wrong."_ _

__Aimeric stared at him for a moment, furrow-browed, before he rolled his eyes and sighed, "You didn't do anything wrong." It sounded like he hated himself for admitting it._ _

__"Then what--"_ _

__Aimeric cut Jord off with a shaky sigh, saying, "You didn't know. You didn't do anything wrong."_ _

__Though there were so many questions at the tip of Jord's tongue, he stayed silent, waiting for Aimeric to continue in his own time._ _

__It didn't take long._ _

__Aimeric pulled his knees to his chest, curling into a little ball at the head of the bed and refusing to so much as glance at Jord. Eventually, he said, "I don't like people saying that to me." It was obvious what _that_ was. "Brings back bad memories."_ _

__"Aimeric." The softness in Jord's voice finally earned him eye contact. "Who hurt you?"_ _

__"Doesn't matter." Aimeric looked away again, turning his head to rest his cheek on his knee. "He doesn't want me anymore." Aimeric sighed, his pretty eyes slipping shut. "He said he loved me, and we'd be together forever, but _he lied_."_ _

__"I would never lie to you." Gingerly, Jord moved a bit closer to the head of the bed, immensely relieved when Aimeric didn't skitter away. "You know that, don't you?"_ _

__"No one is completely honest all the time."_ _

__"Fair enough," Jord admitted, "but when I said it, _I meant it_. I would never say something like that to you without meaning it."_ _

__More to himself than to Jord, Aimeric murmured, "I know you wouldn't." Though he was still clearly hesitant, he closed the distance between them, curling into Jord's chest, his head tucked beneath Jord's chin, a careful hand pressed to Jord's knee. Obviously unfamiliar with such things, Aimeric said, "I"m sorry."_ _

__"Don't be." Brushing back a fall of dark curls, Jord pressed a kiss to Aimeric's forehead. "I can't promise you forever," he said, "but I can absolutely promise I'll be with you as long as you'll have me."_ _

__Aimeric laughed at him for that, pulling back and looking up with him with still-wet eyes. His smile was genuine, at least, and he scoffed, "I thought you couldn't promise forever?"_ _

**Author's Note:**

> This hurt to write, but it goes out to a really sweet Tumblr anon, so I will bear it. 
> 
> As always, I must mention that I go by [aiimeriic](http://aiimeriic.tumblr.com/) over on Tumblr, and I'm totally open to taking questions and comments and requests and prompts there! :) Hit me up!


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